Countless ties to heterodox figures cast shadow over Yoon’s campaign

Posted on : 2022-01-19 17:07 KST Modified on : 2022-01-19 17:07 KST
Claims of Yoon and Kim’s reliance on shamans are prompting concerns due to memories of the Park Geun-hye government influence scandal
People Power Party presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a gathering at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on Monday. (pool photo)
People Power Party presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at a gathering at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on Monday. (pool photo)

Associations with shamanism continue to be a source of controversy for People Power Party (PPP) presidential nominee Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee.

Since the primary, Yoon and Kim have faced accusations of consorting frequently with figures who bill themselves as Buddhist “monks” and “priests” and seeking their advice at crucial times.

Yoon’s longtime associations with a fortune-teller also come up in the recordings of seven hours of telephone conversations between Kim and a journalist which were partially released this week.

Claims of the couple’s reliance on shamans are prompting concerns due to memories of the Park Geun-hye government influence scandal, which involved the then-President taking advice from her eminence grise Choi Soon-sil, who has now legally changed her name to Choi Seo-won.

A shaman surnamed Jeon (far right) guides Yoon Suk-yeol (center, back turned) during his visit to the party’s network headquarters on Jan. 1. (still from YouTube video)
A shaman surnamed Jeon (far right) guides Yoon Suk-yeol (center, back turned) during his visit to the party’s network headquarters on Jan. 1. (still from YouTube video)
“Geonjin” allegations continue even after PPP disbands network committee

In a press conference Tuesday, PPP election headquarters chief Kwon Young-se declared that the party’s network headquarters was being “disbanded, effective immediately.”

“This signifies that we are taking resolution action to stop the spread of needless and malicious misunderstandings surrounding the network headquarters as it pertains to our candidate,” he added.

Coming after revelations that a shaman surnamed Jeon — also known by the name “Geonjin Beopsa” or “Monk Geonjin” — was active in the PPP election camp’s network headquarters, this decision means the entire organization has been done away with.

Responding to reports that Jeon had been involved through unofficial channels in key decision-making by Yoon, the PPP issued a full denial Monday morning, explaining that he had “only stopped by [the election headquarters] a few times.”

But the controversy continued after a video uploaded by the network headquarters itself appeared to show Jeon playing an active role.

The video shows a Jan. 1 visit by Yoon to the network headquarters’ office in Seoul’s Yeouido neighborhood, where Jeon can be seen leading him inside and introducing him to staff members.

Jeon was also observed to have patted Yoon on the shoulders and back and physically escorted him to different locations. He could be seen directing activities, calling on staff numbers to “all come here in front of [network headquarters chief] Kim Hyeong-jun” and saying, “We need the multicultural teams to work quickly, not including the stumping teams.”

Jeon further appeared to be familiar with the headquarters’ operations.

“That’s all for now. Why don’t you come over here for a quick photo?” he said at one point. The situation appeared quite different from the PPP’s claims that Jeon had “only stopped by a few times.”

Responding Monday to the questions about Jeon’s role, Yoon said, “I exchanged pleasantries with him before when I was introduced to him by a party official.”

“My understanding is that he’s a monk. I heard him referred to as ‘beopsa,’” he added, using a term referring to Buddhist priests.

But in the video, Jeon appeared in a jacket with a red scarf — looking very little like a Buddhist priest. The PPP referred to him as the director of planning for a so-called council between Korean Buddhist orders and the government.

This council was itself the focus of controversy in September 2018 amid animal abuse allegations after the skinned carcass of a cow was presented as a sacrifice during a ritual and “national prosperity and welfare lantern festival” in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province.

Jeon was also mentioned as being affiliated with the Ilgwang Jogye order, although the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism stressed that the Ilgwang Jogye order “has no affiliations whatsoever with the Jogye Order.”

This is not the first time Geonjin has found his way into the news.

In October 2021, the YouTube channel Yeollin Gonggam TV — “open mind TV” — met with Hye-woo, a monk at the Ilgwang Temple in Chungju, who said that he had “asked Geonjin Beopsa to look after Yoon Suk-yeol,” adding that Geonjin was “playing a role in Yoon Suk-yeol’s [election] camp.”

Ilgwang Temple in Chungju is the headquarters of the Ilgwang Jogye order and Hye-woo has been referred to as Geonjin’s “teacher.”

Hye-woo also said he had visited exhibitions organized by Covana Contents on three occasions to offer prayers at the invitation of Kim Keon-hee, who runs the company. This suggests that Jeon established a connection to Yoon through Kim.

The latest confirmation of Jeon’s actual role at the PPP network headquarters comes three months after the previous allegations that he was “mentoring” Yoon.

During a televised debate on Oct. 1, 2021, Yoon Suk-yeol appeared to have the Chinese symbol for “king” written on his palm. (still from MBN’s YouTube channel)
During a televised debate on Oct. 1, 2021, Yoon Suk-yeol appeared to have the Chinese symbol for “king” written on his palm. (still from MBN’s YouTube channel)
Kim Keon-hee also introduced Yoon to Cheongong

Claims of Yoon’s associations with shamanism have surfaced repeatedly ever since the PPP primary. In October of last year, he was filmed with the Chinese character for “king” (王) drawn on his palm during a televised debate.

At the time, Yoon said that a supporter had drawn it on his hand and that he had “tried to wash it off with hand sanitizer but it didn’t come off.” But his explanation failed to clear away the controversy over shaman associations, leaving lingering questions about how a major political contender could have been so easily accessible to supporters and how the symbol could have been drawn in such a way that it would not come off when washed.

Raising further questions was Yoon’s association with a figure who goes by Master Cheongong (Cheon-gong Seuseung), a self-proclaimed monk who runs a YouTube channel under the name Jungbub.

In an interview with media outlet Choi Bo-sik’s Press on March 4 of last year — after Yoon had stepped down as prosecutor general — Cheongong said, “Yoon is someone who has been studying my work. I’m helping him to do well from his position.”

“We meet about once every 10 days,” he added. He also declared that Yoon would “run for the presidency,” earning him the nickname of “Yoon Suk-yeol’s mentor.”

After these remarks touched off a controversy, Cheongong gave another interview on YTN in October, where he stressed that he was “not [Yoon’s] mentor.”

“I met with [Kim Keon-hee] after she contacted me, and Yoon came along as her husband,” he said, adding that he had advised Yoon on his decision to quit as prosecutor general. This suggests that Kim was the one responsible for bringing Cheongong and Yoon together.

Master Cheongong (still from Jungbub’s YouTube channel)
Master Cheongong (still from Jungbub’s YouTube channel)
Kim reads reporter’s face and palm: “Change careers, intelligence work a better fit”

The recordings of conversations between Kim and a Voice of Seoul reporter identified by his surname Lee also attest to the couple’s interaction with and reliance on fortune tellers.

During one conversation on July 20 of last year, Kim brought up a person who goes by Monk Mujeong (Mujeong Seunim) — someone prosecutors referred to as a “mentor” figure to Yoon.

While she stressed to Lee that Mujeong is “not actually a Buddhist monk,” she also said that Yoon had met him while in his 20s.

“[Yoon] failed the bar exam and was going to get a job with the Bank of Korea, and [Mujeong] told him, ‘You have to try for another three years,’ so he did it for three years and he actually passed,” she told him.

She also quoted Mujeong as saying, “You and Suk-yeol are right for each other.”

She went on to say, “After Moon Jae-in became president, [Mujeong] suddenly started talking in front of my husband about how ‘Moon Jae-in is going to fall.’”

“There wasn’t any other way to interpret that except that my husband was going to ‘fall.’ After that, we cut off ties,” she recalled.

Kim also described herself as a “very spiritual person,” explaining, “I like talking to masters [dosa] about topics like ‘What is life?’”

“I have this reputation for meeting with shamans a lot, but that’s not the case at all. I don’t like shamans,” she said. “I’m more into things like [divination].”

She asked Lee to send her photographs of his face and palm, after which she advised him, “You should change careers. The National Intelligence Service or something related to intelligence would be a better fit for you.” This remark is also consistent with her proposal for Lee to join Yoon’s election camp to perform duties related to information gathering.

The facts and allegations to date point to Yoon and Kim both having been very close to fortune tellers in the past. Having been through a previous ordeal with Choi Soon-sil’s interference in governance, the PPP has been working hard to put the shamanism controversy surrounding Yoon and Kim to bed, but concerns remain.

A lawmaker with the PPP said the party had “worked quickly to respond to the ‘shamanism’ controversy by dismantling the network headquarters,” adding that it “does not appear this will have a huge impact on [Yoon’s] support ratings.”

At the same time, they added, “It’s not a good look in the press, and there looks to be some potential for misunderstanding.”

“At such a pivotal moment, the [shamanism associations] could come across as a dark shadow,” they predicted.

By Kim Hae-jeong and Jang Pill-su, staff reporters

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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